Hollow ribbed mirror corner protector



July 31, 1962 HEFFLEY 3,047,142

HOLLOW RIBBED MIRROR CORNER PROTECTOR Original Filed Nov. 13, 1956 I(SIC H g. 12' INVENTOR.

HUI 1445 0 H HEFFLEY its This is a continuation of application SerialNo. 621,741, filed November 13, 1956.

This invention relates to means for protecting the corners of mirrors.The mirrors on which the corner protectors of this invention are usedeach consist of a plate of glass which may be beveled along its edgesand which is silvered on the back, the silvered back being protected bya sheet of fiber board. The sheet of fiber board usually is slightlysmaller than the plate of glass so that the fiber board will not showfrom the front when the mirror is hung.

It is an object of the invention to provide a protector for corners ofmirrors of the type described above, which protector when in place on amirror has a hollow rib extending around and out of contact with thecorner of the glass plate, so that pressure and shocks received by therib are not transmitted to the corner of the glass plate.

It is another object to provide such a corner protector in which thehollow rib extends for a short distance over the margin of the front ofthe glass plate.

Another object is to provide a corner protector having a flange tooverlie the corner and adjacent margins of a fiber board mirror backingsheet, said flange being adapted to be fastened to said backing sheet.

Another object is to provide a corner protector such as that outlinedabove which is so shaped as to snugly embrace the corner of a mirror.

Still a further object is to provide such a corner protector which ismolded of plastic material, eg artificial resin.

Other objects and numerous advantages of the invention will becomeapparent upon perusal of the following description illustrated by theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a fragmentary rear elevational view showing the back of acorner of a mirror to which the corner protector of this invention hasbeen applied;

FIG. II is a fragmentary front elevational view showing the face of acorner of a mirror to which the corner protector of this invention hasbeen applied;

FIG. III is a detail sectional view taken as indicated by the lineIIIIII of FIG. I;

FIG. IV is a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by the lineIV-IV of FIG. III; and

FIG. V is a fragmentary sectional View taken as indicated by the line VVof FIG. I.

The following description and the accompanying drawings are intended todescribe and illustrate a preferred form of the invention but are notintended to impose limitations upon its scope.

The mirror to which the corner protector of this invention is appliedcomprises a plate of glass A which may be beveled along the margins ofits face and to the back of which a reflective coating (not shown) ofsilver or other material is applied. The mirror also comprises a backingsheet B of fiber board or the like, the dimensions of which are slightlyless than the dimensions of the glass plate so that the fiber boardbacking sheet will not show from the front when the mirror is hung.

Riveted at intervals along the margin of the backing sheet B are hooks Cwhich extend around the edges of the backing sheet and the glass plateto hold them in assembled relation;

While the backing sheet protects the reflective coating of silver or thelike from scratching and other damage, it affords no protection to thecorners or edges of the glass plate, the apices of the corners beingparticularly vulnerable. In handling heavy mirrors workmen are H- ableto rest them on their corners and even to pivot them on their corners.Chipping the corner of a beautiful, expensive mirror ruins it.

Means for protecting corners of mirrors have heretofore been devised,the means most commonly used consisting of a folded piece of corrugatedpaper board, usually with a splice that makes the folded paper boardprotector weakest at the apex of the corner where protection is mostneeded. Corner protectors also have been made of metal strips which wereprecariously held in place by wrapping paper and would fall away if thewrapping were torn or removed. While metal corner protectors arepractical for use on bundles of sheet metal, Wall board and othernonfrangible sheets, metal protectors are liable to themselves inflictdamage upon a notch sensitive plate of glass.

The device of the applicants invention is a generally V- shapedstructure (preferably an integral molding of plastic material, e.g., apolyvinyl or a phenolic compound) having an edge embracing strip 5 whichfits around the corner of the mirror and a front flange 6 which overliesthe face of marginal portions of the glass plate adjacent its corner.The front flange 6 and the embracing strip 5 have a hollow rib 7 formedtherein at the apex of the Vshaped structure. When the protector is inplace on a mirror the hollow rib 7 projects beyond the intersectingplanes of the plate forming a support leg for the plate and furtherforms a pocket into which the apex of the mirror corner extends withoutbeing in contact with the interior of the rib.

Additional hollow ribs 8 extend over the edges of the glass plate A andall of the ribs 7 and 8 overlie the margin of the face of the glassplate. Hence, when the mirror is laid face down upon a flat surface orfaces a flat surface inside of a box the ribs 7 and 8 hold the face ofthe glass plate spaced from the flat surface, thus reducing theliability of damage. Similarly the ribs 7 and 8 where they extend aroundthe edges of the glass plate hold the edges of the glass plate away fromany contiguous straight surface such as a Wall or the interior of a box.

The corner protector has a flat back flange 9 which engages and overliesthe margins of the fiber board B adjacent the corner thereof. The edgeof the back flange 9 is flared slightly outwardly to facilitate slippingthe corner protector into place, see FIG. V. The corner protector isdesigned to fit snugly upon the corner of the mirror and being slightlyresilient it will remain in place temporarily. To fasten it securely inplace a staple 10 is pushed through the back flange 9 and into the fiberboard by means of a well known type of stapling device. The structure ofthe corner protector where the staple is applied adjacent the apex is sorigid that the pressure or blow is taken by the rib 7 and transferred tothe surface upon which the corner protector rests without liability ofbreaking the glass plate.

The appearance of the corner protector is enhanced by the ribs 7 and '8and its neatness when in place contrasts strikingly with the ugliness ofcorner protectors heretofore used. It is sufliciently ornamental to beleft in place while the mirror is on display by a merchant and in somecases even after the mirror is hung.

The form of device described above and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings is exemplary only and is subject to modification within thespirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A corner protector for mirrors or like articles comprising agenerally V-shaped structure adapted to fit around the corner of amirror or like article consisting of a glass or other frangible plateassembled with a backing sheet, said V-shaped structure having an edgeembracing st-rip and a front flange to overlie the face of the cornerand adjacent marginal portions of such glass plate, there being a hollowrib formed in said edge embracing strip and front flange at the apex ofsaid V-shaped structure, said hollow rib projecting beyond the intersecting planes of the plate and forming a supporting leg for the plate whensaid corner protector is in place on such mirror, said structure alsohaving a back flange to overlie the corner and adjacent marginalportions of such backing sheet, whereby said corner protector is adaptedto be reliably attached to but readily removed from an individual mirrorand to protect the corner of such individual mirror against damage bothwhen packaged and when unpackaged, said corner protector havingadditional hollow ribs that are formed in the edge embracing strip andfront flange and are parallel to the hollow rib that is formed at theapex of the V-shaped structure.

2. A corner protector for mirrors or like articles comprising agenerally V-shaped structure adapted to fit around the corner of amirror or like article consisting of a glass or other frangible plateassembled with a backing sheet, said V-shaped structure having an edgeembracing strip and a front flange to overlie the face of the corner andadjacent marginal portions of such glass plate, there being a hollow ribformed in said edge embracing strip and front flange at the apex of saidV-shaped structure, said hollow rib projecting beyond the intersectingplanes of the plate and forming a supporting leg for the plate when saidcorner protector is in place on such mirror, said structure also havinga back flange to overlie the corner and adjacent marginal portions ofsuch backing sheet whereby said corner protector is adapted to bereliably attached to but readily removed from an individual mirror andto protect the corner of such individual mirror against damage both whenpackaged and when unpackaged, said corner protector having additionalhollow ribs that are formed in the edge embracing strip and front flangeand are parallel to the hollow rib that is formed at the apex of theV-shaped structure, said corner protector being molded of plasticmaterial.

3. A corner protector for mirrors or like articles comprising agenerally V-shaped structure adapted to fit around the corner of amirror or like article consisting of a glass or other frangible plateassembled with a backing sheet, said V-shaped structure having a cornerembracing strip and a front flange integral therewith and extending atsubstantially right angles thereto to overlie the face of the corner andadjacent marginal portions of such glass plate, said structure alsohaving a back flange integral therewith and extending substantiallyparallel to said front flange to overlie the corner and adjacentmarginal portions of such backing sheet, there being a hollow rib formedinsaid corner embracing strip at the apex thereof, said hollow ribprojecting beyond the apex of said edge embracing strip and theintersecting planes of the plate and forming a supporting leg for theplate into which the corner of said plate may extend when said cornerprotector is in place on such mirror, whereby said corner protector isadapted to be reliably attached to but readily removed from anindividual mirror and to protect the corner of such individual mirroragainst damage both when packaged and when unpackaged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSJohnson May 21, 1957

